Do More Things For the Love of It
An multi-passionate creative's approach to avoiding burnout and building a sustainable creative life
Lately I’ve been sitting with a simple question:
What would happen if I did more things simply because I loved doing them?
No expectation.
No revenue target.
No strategy attached.
Just… the joy of doing the thing.
For a long time I’ve treated almost every idea like it needed to become something productive. A program. A workshop. A business model. A tour. Something that had to justify itself with results.
That mindset is useful in business.
It’s terrible for creativity.
And it’s even worse for culture.
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Because the truth is that most of the things we admire in music and art didn’t start as revenue strategies. They started as people gathering because it felt good to make something together.
Think about the scenes that changed culture:
Seattle grunge.
’90s skate punk.
Early hip-hop.
Indie folk collectives.
Jam bands.
None of those began as carefully engineered business plans.
They began with people saying:
“Let’s do cool stuff together.”
Basements.
Garages.
Warehouses.
Backyards.
Music first.
Money later.
The culture came before the commerce.
And once the culture was alive, the economy naturally formed around it.
That realization changed something for me.
Right now I’m building things that matter to me: coaching work, leadership programs, musician wellness, and a gathering of artists here in Calgary. Those things need structure. They need planning. They need to support themselves financially.
But they can’t be the only thing in my life.
Because if every creative impulse has to justify itself with a price tag, something important dies. The curiosity disappears. The play disappears. The weird ideas that might become something amazing never get the chance to breathe.
So I’m making a quiet shift.
Some things in my life will exist purely because they bring joy.
Music circles.
Jam sessions.
Creative experiments.
Small gatherings of artists.
Late-night ideas that don’t need a business plan.
No pressure.
Just people creating together.
Ironically, those are often the places where the best opportunities appear. Not because anyone was chasing them, but because real connection was happening.
Scenes grow around people who are clearly enjoying themselves.
And culture grows where pressure is low enough for creativity to move freely.
So this is a reminder for myself as much as it is for anyone reading this:
Not everything you do needs to become a product.
Some things exist simply because they make life richer.
And sometimes those are the very things that change everything.
Let me know what you are creating just for the joy of creating.
And if sh*t like this excites you, be sure to follow me and join the underground —> www.substack.musicfitunderground.com
Peace,
M
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